Set Pieces: The Space of Deception
by Amy McWilliams

While the "Face of Deception" storyline has not been my favorite, I've actually been fascinated with the office set for the new company. It reminds me of the mid-90s sets for Deception and Jacks Cosmetics--not Lucy's dark-wood office, seen most recently, but the monochromatic beige-ness of the Katherine/Lucy storyline in its heyday. But it also reminds me of an office in Laura's past--the old ELQ offices from the early 80s. I'm also intrigued by the whole idea of Laura behind a desk. As long as I've been watching (excepting the scenes from the desk at ELQ that I've seen on tape), Laura has rarely had a job, much less a desk. That piece of furniture, then, has become the focal point for me with this set, and started me thinking about writing this piece. Finally, I think the most interesting thing about the set is what we don't see, rather than what we do.

While the Deception set may remind me of the other cosmetic company sets from the 90s in terms of color, I absolutely love that, except for Elton's desk being on the opposite side of the entryway, this office space is set up exactly like the old ELQ set. Back in 1981, Laura was the receptionist for ELQ, working at a desk in a lobby with an elevator, outside the office of Edward Quartermaine. She was adequate but not stellar at her job, and spent more time running errands for Alexandria (dry cleaning, messages to Kurt Wheeler/James Duvall) and talking with Luke and Scorpio (the former she was on the outs with, after announcing herself as Mrs. Scotty Baldwin upon their return from the Left-Handed Boy caper, the latter she was flirting with to get Luke's attention). The fact that Laura is now in the big office (and not even the smaller office down the hall, which was Luke's and is now, apparently, Carly's) with a receptionist all her own entertains me. She is still a tad bit scattered, just as she was then, but that continuity is refreshing. Even though Laura is starting a new life for herself, and independent life, her new job is surrounded with echoes of her history.

It doesn't hurt that some of the best scenes in that office have come not from her stormy working relationship with Carly, but with her children and her family. The birthday scene with Lulu, Amy, Scotty, and Lesley--and Lucky, Elizabeth, and Nikolas--felt so familiar, so right. Her children tie her to her past--to Stefan and to Luke--while the grownups have been around since the days of her old office job and carry a lot of history with them any time they enter a room.

The last time we saw Laura at a desk job was when she worked at the hospital, most notably trying to help the boy that reminded her of Lucky. That job was short lived, and the office rarely seen. Before that, she might have had a desk when she was helping Justus Ward run for office, but I suspect she simply worked where there was room, since she was a volunteer. Luke's desk has always been an interest of mine: who sits on it, or on what side; what chair is behind it; when and why those elevator lights come on or turn off. It makes sense, then, that I'd be just as interested in Laura's.

And indeed, there seems to be a pattern in the blocking around that desk. Quite often, Laura is seated behind it when she is confronted--by Carly, by Stefan, by Nikolas. But while Luke's seat of power behind his desk keeps a buffer, an aloofness, from whatever confrontation enters the club office, Laura always seems dwarfed by her desk, as well as by the confrontation. The shots seem to alternate between 1) an angle over the shoulder of the person arguing with Laura and 2) an angle below Laura's shoulder, looking up at the other person as she sits at the desk. Combined, these shots make Laura seem smaller than the other person, and show that she is the one without the power. Sometimes, Laura doesn't stand, but stays seated. Other times, Laura comes out from behind the desk in mid-argument. She engages, she fights, she bickers. She sometimes regains the power in the discussion, other times she simply lets her emotions get the better of her and loses the upper hand.

The rest of the office is telling as well. The sofa area, designed for comfort in meetings, has served as a happier spot than the desk, and not only in the birthday party scenes. It was there Laura told Elizabeth that she had the job, and I remember a scene when Laura and Carly were first looking at photos of models and actually agreed that they wanted an unknown. That may be the last time they agreed on anything, and it was when they were sitting side by side on the sofa. One of her fights with Stefan took place with her starting on the sofa as well, but she rose quickly to counter him.

My favorite thing about Laura's office may be the filing cabinet in the back corner, near the fireplace. It's where she keeps her work shoes. We saw her changing at one point, from the walking shoes she wore into work into the heels she would wear during her day. Many women do a similar thing, but it was the perfect sign of Laura's practicality, and the fact that she keeps shoes in her filing cabinet amused me. I can imagine what else is in there: snacks for Lulu, an extra battery for her cell phone, etc.

The reception area is great too, not only because it almost precisely resembles the ELQ entryway, but because the first thing you're met with when you come off the elevator is Elton. Carly may have ranted about the "dental office" look of the whole thing (and I might have agreed), but Elton makes it clear that this is no ordinary office. His multi-colored files, his headset, his phone skills--if Elton is ever out of a job, he can come to work for me.

But with the mention of Carly I come to the point that is most fascinating to me about Deception. In the story, Carly is 1% down on Laura's 50% of the stock, Laura has put her in the smaller office and decorated it for her, and Laura has never truly understood this as half Carly's company. Rather, it is her dream, and Carly's ruining it. (I'm not arguing that Carly's in the right here, only that Laura has been in the wrong too.) The storyline would ask us to see two people fighting over this company and the best way to make it work. The writers want us to see Laura as earnest but flawed, and Carly as a problematic partner who still has a dream of what she wants to do with her new company. I assume that the writers want us to see the potential here, see how both women have made mistakes, but also see what both can bring to the company. Spatially, however, Laura has the upper hand--not because her office is bigger, but because it is the only one we really ever see.

This is, no doubt, because of budgetary concerns. The first launch party brought us the expanded Deception set, with room for the party, a roof and stairs (which are actually taken from the GH set over on Port Charles), and--finally--Carly's office. But the fact that for months Carly did not have an office, that she had to take her own meeting with Gia in Laura's office, argues that this is Laura's company and Carly is an interloper. While some might say that's exactly the case, I would like to see these two women actually work together, recognizing each other as equals and finding at least a shaky peace. But the set, or rather, the use of the set (I don't think we've seen Carly's office since that first appearance) tells me that's probably not going to happen, just as you know a character's in limbo until they have a set to come home to.

While I've focused on Laura and on the smaller scenes at Deception in this article, I should mention in closing one of my favorite things about Deception--the launch parties. While such large-scale scenes can be overdone on soaps, and while the pace is usually a little slow, with people having the same small talk over and over (the highlight of the first launch party was definitely Alexis's rate hikes), this new business gives the writers a way to put more people in the same room on occasion, whether it be in the newly-revealed space at the Deception offices or at Luke's club. I miss the scenes, which have seemed few and far between in the recent past, where all of Port Charles comes together, bringing all of the storylines into one room. And besides, anything that gives me scenes with Scott and Amy together can't be all bad.

All photos are from the February 9th episode.

Back to Front Page of Issue

Back to Top